History Fridge / WWE

* The theme for NXT Season 5 is "Redemption," meaning that the rookies from the past three seasons[[note]]Not counting the all-Diva season[[/note]] have a chance to earn a spot in Season 6, each with new pros such as Chavo Guerrero, JTG and Hornswoggle (which is stupid). The returning rookies? Titus O'Neil, Lucky Cannon, Connor O'Brien, Byron Saxton, Jacob Novak, and ...[[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers Darren Young]]? Considering that not only was he part of [[Wrestling/TheNexus The (original) Nexus]], but he was already a regular on "[[BShow Superstars]]" and even has had own theme music.

* How does [[Wrestling/RonKillings R-Truth]] go from retaliating against Wrestling/JohnMorrison for taking away his title shot, to becoming a {{mad eye}}d {{conspiracy theorist}} [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes arachnophobiac]]? Truth's interview on August 8th, 2011 compared Morrison to a spider heading into their match later that night. Let's think back to the night Truth turned heel. John Morrison, a guy whose LeParkour training has made him so acrobatic some people have described him as "[[Franchise/{{Spider Man}} Spider-Man]]-like", as well as R-Truth's best friend for a good little while, comes out one night with complete sour grapes and questions R-Truth's worth as a number one contender to try to goad him into putting his ''Extreme Rules'' title shot on the line. Truth sees through it, ''and tells John as much'', but then the London crowd ''[[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor still wants him to give John the match]]''. [[IdiotBall So he makes the choice he knows is the stupid one because he values the opinions of the WWE Universe so much at the time, and of course he ends up paying for it.]] Not until that point, after he effectively just let them '''take away his dream''', does the notion click in his head that [[AwfulTruth neither Morrison nor the fans have ever been as loyal to him as he has to them]]. If such an experience didn't cause him to snap, question, and turn against his entire previous world view, he might as well have changed his name from R-Truth to I.M. Fool. And him hating the animal John was essentially said to be synonymous with during most of their friendship, shows how eccentric and strange his mind has become. It only helps this theory that the FaceHeelTurn itself was perhaps the most brilliantly-done FreakOut in recent wrestling memory.

!! FridgeBrilliance:

* The return of [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock.]] Before he comes out, there is a short 'lights out' sequence with just random ambient sound playing, punctuated by sparking sound effects. Random filler? Used to set the mood for the 'lights going out'? Nope. The sparks are because of the return of the ''most electrifying man in [[strike:sports]] all entertainment''.
* The Miz wanting Wrestling/JohnCena to state that he was Awesome if Alex Riley defeated him in a cage match. Compared to what Cena has gone through the past year or so, pretty lame right? But considering that Cena has focused more on The Rock than Miz (Despite facing the latter at [=WrestleMania=] for the world title), one could get the sense that despite all that has happened Cena ''still'' thinks of The Miz as a joke. So while the stipulation may sound tame, but when you consider the possibility of having the one guy who, despite your accomplishments, always saw you as a joke state that you're not. All of a sudden, Miz' stipulation doesn't sound so lame.
* Wrestling/{{Rikishi}}'s twin sons were called the Uso Brothers, or Wrestling/TheUsos for short, when they came up in FCW, then when they were called up to the main roster shorthand became the official name. I had a little bit of trouble understanding why, until I found out that "uso" in Samoan language means "brother". Meaning "Uso Brother" would roughly translate to "[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Brother Brother]]". The long name practically parodied Wrestling/HulkHogan's VerbalTic. - SomeoneElse17
* How does [[Wrestling/RonKillings R-Truth]] go from retaliating against Wrestling/JohnMorrison for taking away his title shot, to becoming a {{mad eye}}d {{conspiracy theorist}} [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes arachnophobiac]]? Question came to mind a couple of times, and some thought was put into it, but it didn't completely click until Truth's interview on August 8th, 2011 comparing Morrison to a spider heading into their match later that night. Let's think back to the night Truth turned heel. John Morrison, a guy whose LeParkour training has made him so acrobatic some people have described him as "[[Franchise/{{Spider Man}} Spider-Man]]-like", as well as R-Truth's best friend for a good little while, comes out one night with complete sour grapes and questions R-Truth's worth as a number one contender to try to goad him into putting his ''Extreme Rules'' title shot on the line. Truth sees through it, ''and tells John as much'', but then the London crowd ''[[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor still wants him to give John the match]]''. [[WhatAnIdiot So he makes the choice he knows is the stupid one because he values the opinions of the WWE Universe so much at the time, and of course he ends up paying for it.]] Not until that point, after he effectively just let them '''take away his dream''', does the notion click in his head that [[AwfulTruth neither Morrison nor the fans have ever been as loyal to him as he has to them]]. If such an experience didn't cause him to snap, question, and turn against his entire previous world view, he might as well have changed his name from R-Truth to I.M. Fool. And him hating the animal John was essentially said to be synonymous with during most of their friendship, shows how eccentric and strange his mind has become. It only helps this theory that the FaceHeelTurn itself was perhaps the most brilliantly-done FreakOut in recent wrestling memory.
** The turn caused by Morrison also explains where the Little Jimmy thing comes from. What's Morrison? A [[Music/TheDoors Jim Morrison]]-inspired wrestler. Who took advantage of his trust and friendship and took away his shot? Morrison. In effect, Truth describing everyone as Jimmys is basically saying he sees everyone as being just like John - people that betrayed his loyalty and devotion. He's basically saying that the WWE universe as a whole has betrayed him as John did. In this sense, he's -right-!

* The whole storyline starting from Wrestling/CMPunk's shoot and leading to Triple H's term as COO may seem like it was just a spontaneous moment that caught fire and reshaped the fabric of WWE storylines. But the truth is, no it's not. This is exactly what WWE has been going for since the [[Wrestling/TheNexus NXT Riot]] on June 7, 2010 in Miami.

* This troper thinks its a nice touch that the [[UnrelatedBrothers brothers]] Kane and Wrestling/TheUndertaker have the same Texan accent.
* Aksana being the one who attacked Kaitlyn at Night of Champions. She was the only other Diva in the building that night (she accompanied Antonio Cesaro for his title match). She put the wig on and attacked Kaitlyn before going out with Cesaro, who could provide an alibi for her if she was suspected. Also Beth Phoenix being a suspect. She's a fairly muscular girl, as is Aksana and Kaitlyn would have been able to see that her attacker was solidly built.

* Young Bo Rotundo's happy-go-lucky PrettyBoy persona and push to the top of NXT in the middle of 2013 in front of a vocal college audience that can't stand such a figure, followed by his subsequent heel turn as the developmental brand's main heel by playing his character straight as a [[StepfordSmiler delusional]] [[InformedAbility undertalented]] [[BitchInSheepsClothing phony]], seems like a happy accident and may very well be one. One would think the FridgeBrilliance would come in when one realizes that Bo's character is exactly what a lot of people think of another, similar man WWE propelled to the top—this being the current face of the machine himself, Wrestling/JohnCena. But then it hit me. Since the start of FCW's transition into NXT Wrestling, his ring name has been ''Wrestling/BoDallas''. What's the significance of this? Well, Dallas also happens to be the name of a [[Series/{{Dallas}} classic pop-iconic soap opera]] (as well as its modern-day next-generation revival) involving a cast of characters who are [[StepfordSmiler generally good at putting on a public face]] [[BigScrewedUpFamily but whose world under the surface for the most part is]] [[BitchInSheepsClothing wrought with scheming and conniving up the nines]]. That's pretty much Bo to a tee! Furthermore, his first NXT theme and stage graphics played up the whole "Dallas/western" theme, possibly hinting at the connection, and his current theme, while awesome, contains lyrics that veer back and forth between {{Determinator}} and TheDreaded. Note that he got this theme before turning heel. A teaser to his true nature, perhaps? But…the show's not actually set ''in Dallas'', right? Well, Bo's not even from Texas, he's Florida born and billed. This whole turn of events may have been a possibility since the Wrestling/WadeBarrett feud was {{aborted|Arc}}.

* The Big Show's betrayal at ''Over The Limit 2012''. Most people would think that it was a nonsensical Russo-esque swerve, with Big Show aligning with Laurinaitis despite the fact that the latter humiliated and fired the former for making fun of his voice. But remember that Big Show said his turn was based on the lack of sympathy he got from the rest of the face roster. Since Johnny's job was on the line with his match against Cena, and he couldn't use any outside assistance from his allies or they would lose their jobs. Since firing someone close to him would come off as suspicious, he knew he had to get rid of a face, and shortly before the event, trick him into believing nobody cared about him anymore and that even Cena showed no real sympathy for him, as evident by treating his feud with Laurinaitis as a joke. With the "iron-clad contract" Laurinaitis promised him if he helped him win, Show would be able to get his revenge on Cena and then on everyone else who failed to stand up for him. And Johnny would have found a way to save his job again.

!! FridgeLogic:
* The theme for NXT Season 5 is "Redemption," meaning that the rookies from the past [[strike:four]] three seasons[[note]]Not counting the all-Diva season[[/note]] have a chance to earn a spot in Season 6, each with new pros such as Chavo Guerrero, JTG and Hornswoggle (which is stupid). The returning rookies? Titus O'Neil, Lucky Cannon, Connor O'Brien, Byron Saxton, Jacob Novak, and ...[[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers Darren Young]]? Considering that not only was he part of [[Wrestling/TheNexus The (original) Nexus]], but he was already a regular on "[[BShow Superstars]]" and even has had own theme music.

** I'm sure they meant the stipulation.

!! FridgeHorror:

* Randy Orton has recently started his mission to completely destroy the fan favorite Superstars to the point of stripping them of their identity to spite the WWE Universe, starting with Jeff Hardy. Even going as far as to remove Hardy's face paint. What if one of his targets turn out to be a MaskedLuchador? Sin Cara aside, one might be thankful that The Lucha House Party is exclusively on 205 Live until you remember that it airs immediately after Smackdown Live (In the same arena, no less)!

* It's no secret that management was not happy with Bart Gunn winning the Wrestling/WWEBrawlForAll, let alone defeating Wrestling/DrDeathSteveWilliams, as it derailed plans for a few between Williams and Wrestling/SteveAustin. With the airing of an episode of Vice's ''Dark Side of the Ring'' focusing on the Brawl for All, Butterbean confirmed that he was brought in to knock out Bart Gunn as punishment for beating Dr. Death. It also mentioned that WWE had Bart Gunn train to be a boxer in preparation for the match, which Butterbean stated that had he brawled the way he did in the Brawl for All instead of as a boxer, he would've had a better chance of winning. Not only was the match was set up for Butterbean to knock out Bart Gunn, but ''they sabotaged Bart Gunn to ensure it would happen!''

* It's no secret that management was not happy with Bart Gunn winning the Wrestling/WWEBrawlForAll, let alone defeating Wrestling/DrDeathSteveWilliams, as it derailed plans for a few between Williams and Wrestling/SteveAustin. With the airing of an episode of Vice's ''Dark Side of the Ring'' focusing on the Brawl for All, Butterbean confirmed that he was brought in to knock out Bart Gunn as punishment for beating Dr. Death. It also mentioned that WWE had Bart Gunn train to be a boxer in preparation for the match, which Butterbean stated that had he brawled the way he did in the Brawl for All instead of as a boxer, he would've had a better chance of winning. ''Bart Gunn was sabotaged to ensure he would lose!''

* It's no secret that management was not happy with Bart Gunn winning the Wrestling/WWEBrawlForAll, let alone defeating Wrestling/DrDeathSteveWilliams, as it derailed plans for a few between Williams and Wrestling/SteveAustin. With the airing of an episode of Vice's '''Dark Side of the Ring''' focusing on the Brawl for All, Butterbean confirmed that he was brought in to knock out Bart Gunn as punishment for beating Dr. Death. It also mentioned that WWE had Bart Gunn train to be a boxer in preparation for the match, which Butterbean stated that had he brawled the way he did in the Brawl for All instead of as a boxer, he would've had a better chance of winning. ''Bart Gunn was sabotaged to ensure he would lose!''

* After the Authors of Pain win their debut match on Raw, they ditch Paul Ellering. Why would they suddenly ditch him? Remember when he returned to the WWE with the Legion of Doom and betrayed them for the Disciples of Apocalypse? Ellering justified his actions by [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness comparing LoD to an old horse to be shot]]. The [=AoP=] [[ProperlyParanoid likely knew about it and wanted to avoid that happening to them]].

** The referees, announcers, and cameramen (with a [[Wrestling/BookerT few]] [[Wrestling/JerryLawler exceptions]]) are defenseless and wouldn't be able to defend themselves. However, one of said exceptions actually ''led the strike'', despite being unquestionably pro-babyface 98 percent of the time, which also probably influenced the midcard face wrestlers a bit as well.
** With all of this in mind, the motivation of the "No Confidence" vote may be out of fear for their safety, looking out for their best interests, or not being sure what to do and decide to [[FollowTheLeader just go with whatever everyone else was doing]].

* The reason why Stephanie [=McMahon=] gave Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn Raw contracts? You'd think it would be to spite Kurt Angle for being the SpannerInTheWorks in the Authority's plans for Ronda Rousey. Until you realize ''why'' they got fired from Smackdown Live in the first place: Upon his announcement of taking a indefinite leave of absence, Owens and Zayn brutally attacked Shane [=McMahon=]. [[SiblingRivalry Considering their relationship]], Stephanie likely enjoyed the beating Owens and Zayn gave to Shane and this was her way of thanking them. Spiting Kurt Angle was just a bonus.

* The reason why Stephanie [=McMahon=] gave Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn Raw contracts? You think it would be to spite Kurt Angle for being the SpannerInTheWorks in the Authority's plan for Ronda Rousey. Until you realize ''why'' they got fired from Smackdown Live in the first place: Upon his announcement of taking a indefinite leave of absence, Owens and Zayn brutally attacked Shane [=McMahon=]. [[SiblingRivalry Considering their relationship]], Stephanie likely enjoyed the beating Owens and Zayn gave to Shane and this was her way of thanking them. Spiting Kurt Angle was just a bonus.

* After the Authors of Pain win their debut match on Raw, they ditch Paul Ellering. Why would they suddenly ditch him? Remember when he returned to the WWE with the Legion of Doom and betrayed them for the Disciples of Apocalypse? Ellering justified his actions by [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness comparing LoD to an old horse to be shot]]. The AoP [[ProperlyParanoid likely knew about it and wanted to avoid that happening to them]].

* The Miz wanting Wrestling/JohnCena to state that he was Awesome if Alex Riley defeated him in a cage match. Compared to what Cena has gone through the past year or so, pretty lame right? But considering that Cena has focused more on The Rock than Miz (Despite facing the latter at Wrestlemania for the world title), one could get the sense that despite all that has happened Cena ''still'' thinks of The Miz as a joke. So while the stipulation may sound tame, but when you consider the possibility of having the one guy who, despite your accomplishments, always saw you as a joke state that you're not. All of a sudden, Miz' stipulation doesn't sound so lame.

* Why was Eve, despite being a heel by that time, suddenly back of Zack Ryder's side for the 7-on-7 tag match at ''WrestleMania 28''? She was just a mole for Team Johnny the entire time! When Zack and Eve did the "woo-woo-woo" taunt, it forced the referee to escort Eve out of the ring. This distracted Zack and allowed the Miz to hit a Skull-Crushing Finale and get the pinball for the win. ''That was her plan all along.''

* An episode of ''Raw'' ended with Kane having Wrestling/EveTorres cornered backstage, cowering and screaming. The next week she passionately kisses Wrestling/JohnCena in the "heat of the moment". The next week she reveals she had been using John Cena and Wrestling/ZackRyder all along. She gets dubbed a "Hoeski" and publicly shamed by Cena. It's heavily implied that Kane ''raped'' her. We could have been booing the actions of a rape victim - who had possibly gone mad from the experience.

* The theme for NXT Season 5 is "Redemption," meaning that the rookies from the past [[strike:four]] three seasons[[note]]Not counting the all-Diva season[[/note]] have a chance to earn a spot in Season 6, each with new pros such as Chavo Guerrero, JTG and Hornswoggle (which is stupid). The returning rookies? Titus O'Neil, Lucky Cannon, Connor O'Brien, Byron Saxton, Jacob Novak, and ...[[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers Darren Young]]? Considering that not only was he part of [[TheNexus The (original) Nexus]], but he was already a regular on "[[BShow Superstars]]" and even has had own theme music.